Parallels Between Terrestrial Intelligence And Extraterrestrial Intelligence

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Humans (and other higher animals) really like to explore – what's over the next hill? Food or sex or enemies or greener grass or gold or buried treasure – we've got to know. It is in our really nature our genes and possibly a trait crucial for survival. I strongly suspect the similar will be accurate for any extraterrestrial (ETI).

 

Part of that survival is understanding about your neighbours (friend or foe) so we seek out new life forms and new civilizations, be they across the valley, across the pond, or across the gulf of space. That really should also apply to ETI.

 

Classic SETI (the Search for ETI) is handicapped in that it can only detect a tiny subset of new extraterrestrial life forms and new civilizations. SETI can't detect non-intelligent life or intelligences that do not have a high sufficient or suitable technologies. That would also apply to ETI. Their SETI program wouldn't have detected human civilization even as recently as say 200 years ago.

 

To come across the rest, that is most life all through the cosmos, we require to Boldly Go and travel to the stars. Ditto ETI.

 

There are no natural physical laws, relationships or principles that would prevent this, and that applies to ETI as properly.

 

We've only just begun to Boldly Go, taking our 1st couple of baby actions into our own shallow waters that ultimately lead to the terrific depths of the cosmic ocean. ETI (in general) has had potentially vastly additional time in which to sail the cosmic ocean and way far more time to become more advanced technologically – as in interstellar spaceflight capability. We've only had roughly 4.5 billion years to get to exactly where we are these days our cosmic (Milky Way Galaxy) neighbours have had potentially an further 5.5 billion years on leading of that considering that our galaxy is roughly ten billion years old.

 

A lot more technologically advanced Europeans discovered Australia, Japan, the Americas, and so on. not the other way about. By analogy, ETI will discover us ahead of we discover them. In reality, translated, ETI has discovered us. We are the modern day equivalents of the Aztecs, Maya, Incas, North American Indians, Australian Aborigines, the Japanese. But that's obtaining slightly ahead of the game. In actual truth, ETI discovered Planet Earth most likely way before humans had been thought of in anyone's philosophy – specifically theirs (but that is receiving ahead of the game again).

 

 

We'd be excited to discover the biosphere of another planet – microbes on Mars would be exciting to astrobiologists. Biospheres are reasonably rare in the cosmos compared to other genuine estate abodes. The Moon is cosmic real estate, but it's not quite exciting genuine estate. ETI would presumably be far more interested in real estate with a biosphere – like our biosphere – for the reason that once again biospheres are rare real estate.

 

Of course ET could possibly not have really discovered Earth and Earth's biosphere by basically exploring our inner solar system. ET could have detected spectroscopically our biosphere remotely, at a vast distance, by discovering biomarkers that's one of a kind to life like chlorophyll or oxygen, or otherwise suggestive of an environment that is bio-friendly, like water vapour or methane. The parallel there is that we human's are detecting via remote sensing, extra-solar planets at a rapid rate of knots. Determining the general chemical makeup of such bodies is plausible, and in truth has been accomplished for various additional-solar planets already. It most likely won't be too a lot longer just before we detect an alien biosphere, or at least a possible 1.

 

If humans discover something new and significant, and assuming it doesn't have sensitive military or diplomatic connotations, that information and facts tends to get disseminated as promptly as the technologies of the times makes it possible for for. In like fashion the very first discovery of our biosphere could be normal understanding throughout all of our galaxy's ETI civilizations within a maximum of 100,000 years at light speed (or less) since the diameter of our galaxy is only 100,000 light years.  Probably every space faring ET would want to come and have a look. The terrestrial parallels are obvious. As soon as we discovered Antarctica it immediately became typical knowledge. We (collectively) went back, again, and once again and once again, lastly setting up near permanent quarters regardless of the obvious expenses and hardships, all in the name of science. We'll go back to the Moon too 1 day – maybe not anytime actual soon, but ultimately. Your good grandkids will see lunar settlements or outposts like we these days see in Antarctica.

 

Of course it would prove to be an extraordinary stroke of luck if, after 4.five billion years of Planet Earth's existence, that an ETI just happened to stumble across our humble abode at the really era in time that our generation (1947+) was in existence. For this reason, let's postulate that ETI happened upon Planet Earth – oh, let's bisect the timeline – say two.25 billion years ago.

 

Like the Americas or Australia was to the Europeans – prime actual estate, so too our Planet Earth was prime genuine estate to ET all those billions of years ago. That's simply because even back then, Planet Earth had a biosphere, albeit 1 full of microbes – no humans, just lots of microbes. That is okay considering that that still puts our dwelling planet in the higher echelons of useful and prime real estate.

 

Fast forward a number of billion years to just ahead of the dawn of the human. As far as intelligence goes just prior to the dawn, dolphins and kin, and primates rule the IQ roost – along with the crows and their kin (like magpies).

 

As noted, way back then, ET couldn't interact with humans – we hadn't but evolved from the primordial scum - yet – but that was to alter. If a superior nation occurs upon an inferior nation (superior and inferior referring primarily to technology), the usual outcome is, based on our terrestrial history, fairly obvious. So, ETI couldn't do much with microbes, but they could bide their time until some thing far more appropriate and promising came along – the primates.

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